Telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Airtel may consolidate its position at the expense of Vodafone Idea Ltd as it has better balance sheet strength to deal with the eventuality of having to pay past statutory dues in case the Supreme Court rejects their review petitions, brokerages said.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea have filed separate petitions in the Supreme Court seeking review of the October 24 order of the apex court that held them liable to pay statutory dues for past 14 years after including non-telecom revenue in their annual adjusted gross revenues (AGR).

Following new tariff plans announced by incumbent telecom operators, Reliance Jio has updated its tariff plans, which will be applicable from December 6.

"These plans will provide up to 300 per cent more benefits to Jio customers, upholding the Jio promise of providing best-quality service at the lowest price globally," said the company in a statement.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Sunday announced a tariff hike in the range of 15 per cent and 40 per cent across different plans. The tariff hike by both companies will be applicable from December 3, 2019. Vodafone Idea on Sunday said its new plans for its prepaid products and services would be available across India, starting 00:00 hours of December 3, 2019.

Airtel's new plans represent tariff increases in the range of a mere 50 paise per day to Rs 2.85 per day and offer generous data and calling benefits.

Vodafone Idea’s net debt to equity ratio has jumped to a record level of 4.5x at the end of September this year, as against 1.24x at the end of June and 1.8x at March-end.

Vodafone Idea, formed by last year’s merger of the British telecom firm’s local unit with Idea Cellular, has warned lenders that it won’t be able to honour its commitments for long under current conditions, the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions are private.

Vodafone Idea Ltd., formed by last year’s merger of the British telecommunications firm’s local unit with billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Idea Cellular Ltd., has warned lenders that it won’t be able to honor its commitments for long under current conditions, the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions are private.

The company on Thursday warned the latest verdict on the definition of telecom revenue will have “damaging implications” for the industry, and indicated it could explore filing a review application after legal consultation.

Sources said that the payments came in before the due date.